Sorry
by NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD
Summary: “Sally, just…” He couldn’t seem to get the right words out as he talked to me. All he did was grab my hand and stare. “Don’t go. I’m sorry.” [LightningSally][Sally’s POV][Humanized][Strong Language][Sexual References]
1. Completely In Love with Somebody

**OH, DARN YOU, WRITER'S BLOCK!**

**RAWR. I have perhaps the _largest_ writer's block you can imagine for Hidden. Massive. I've had it since November, damn it (pardon my French)! And to say the least, I've been inspired to write something else. Enjoy, dawgs.**

**WARNING: Strong language, and some scenes that lead to sex that your won't read about (HOLY BEEP).**

**OTHER WARNING: Humanized, cause I can't seem to write it another way.**

**_Possibly_ ANOTHER WARNING: Sally's POV, scary, huh.**

Radiator Springs, a happy place.

It couldn't have been worse.

Another day to get through, another day to live without him.

Oh, Stickers, why did you have to go?

Standing in front of the sign which used to be worn and almost destroyed, and had now just become lively the day before, bright, colorful. That was how I spent my days. Waiting. Waiting for absolutely nothing. Nothing but a man. Too bad he wouldn't come.

I looked around the corner, trying to hide my straightened brunette hair. He couldn't see me. I wouldn't be able to take it.

There she went again.

Emma, Emma, Miss Emma DeBrunner, I hate your guts. Steal my man, why don't you, take my life along with it.

A laugh and a smile that told me "Life is good for me, too bad for you," and I got the message perfectly, even though it wasn't directly to me. You could tell there's something about her that'd captured the whole town's heart. Except mine and Lexie's. Thank you, lord. Thank you for Lexie.

Lightning gave a sincere smile and a kiss on the cheek. If only that could've happen to me! I thought I had him, and with that, I had everything. Absolutely nothing was what I was left with.

Oh, god, not again.

He snuck a look over to the wall, where he always found me. How those stares killed me. His eyes connected with mine, and his expression stayed the whole time. I couldn't tell what those stares meant. I wanted to know so badly, I would think about it for hours and still have no answer. I responded with a phony smile and sticking my head out the least bit farther. He gave a half smile back and turns back around to just give Emma a much bigger smile than he gave me. What I would give, what would I would go through just to have him back that very second.

That night had torn us apart.

A week before his first race of the season. We had a huge party for him.

Lightning McQueen was beaming. No negative energy, not the least bit anger going around the room, no sadness.

Oh, but Miss DeBrunner wouldn't stand for that.

There was a point that I could actually call Lightning my boyfriend. Shocking, yes? Well, it was absolutely amazing. I was on cloud nine. No, scratch that. I was way higher than cloud nine. I was above all clouds possible.

A little bit of a dance, and we were already bored. I don't even remember the song, but it wasn't even a good song. We could care less. "You wanna get out of here?" he asked me, eyebrow raised. Oh, I would do anything to go back to that moment.

I smiled back and flirtatiously said, "Depends on where we go, Stickers."

I haven't called him Stickers since.

His hand slowly moved from my waist to my hand and he smiled. Not a half smile, not one of those sick cheesy smiles I tend to get from Lexie when she knows I'm thinking about him, a real smile. He dragged me over to the wall and pushed my arm against it. His face moved closer and our noses were slightly touching. I giggled hopelessly and closed my eyes. I couldn't see it, but I felt his lips against mine, and I returned the kiss with my arm still being held up to the wall.

The feeling was like there was no gravity. I was way beyond the clouds at this point.

Somebody happened to bring me down to earth.

It wasn't Emma.

"Miss Sally Carrera, somebody needs you in the little girls' room!" screamed a voice over the music.

Lexie. If only she had known. If only I had known.

Lightning pushed back on my arm and his lips separated from mine. My eyes opened in a few blinks, and I sighed. I started biting my lip, and then I looked at him. He smiled. But those eyes of his, those eyes can't lie to save his life. A little disappointed, but willing to let me go talk to Lexie for a while. Just as long as I came back.

I gave him a peck on the cheek and my face ended up right in front of his ear. "I'll be back soon, baby."

"You better be," he said in a slightly seductive voice. His hand slowly dragged down my arm to my hand and he lifted it up in front of him. Next thing I know, his staring straight into my eyes with his lips softly against my hand.

I smiled. I smiled extremely large. Would you have done anything else if you were completely in love with somebody?

My hand brushed away from his after he kissed it. I flashed a smile at him before my body made a half-turn to the bathroom. I silently squealed to myself. Completely in love with somebody. Yes, yes, I was completely in love with him!

I could've sworn he was, too.

I rushed to the bathroom, finding my young twelve-year-old friend, Miss Lexie Gears, waiting for me, staring at the door. Leaning back onto the door, blocking anybody else if they came in, I squealed even louder. I heard Lexie start laughing her little ass off because of my insanity. "Look at you," she said, holding back her giggles. "Little Miss 'I'm-Happily-Single,' you're in love."

"Oh, Lexie!" I ran over to her and gave her the biggest hug I've ever given anybody. "I can't believe it! It's amazing, and I've never-"

"You've never nearly scared me to death, that's what you've never done!" She started squirming out of my firm grasp around her. "Well," she started to say. "You've never what?"

Finally letting go of her, I just sighed and found myself collapsing on the edge of the sink counters. She was right. I was in love. "I've never actually met somebody who likes me that much. He's so amazing." I leaned my head back in bliss. Stickers, hear this? You had me. You had me completely. She didn't even know why I was even in this state of life, but Lexie was happy for me anyway.

"Well, I just had to remind you that there are some people who promised me a girls' night, so no sleeping with him, alright?"

My eyes grew wide, but I kept my smile. This was why Lexie was my friend. Who else was I supposed to talk to about this kind of stuff? Flo? Maybe, but she didn't have that kind of humor that Lexie did. Lizzie? Hell no. And the rest of the town was guys.

Besides Emma.

Emma DeBrunner is a huge real estate agent, and she used to be my best friend. She came into town squealing my name the moment she recognized me, and I squealed back. She was in town to take a look at some of the property. They wanted to get the town up and running, and maybe get a large profit along with it.

I showed her around town, introducing her to everybody, Mater, Ramone, even Sarge, though she got scared of him.

And then I just had to introduce her to Lightning.

What an idiot I was. I walked her over to him. She smiled and said, "Hey, I'm Emma. Nice to meet you."

Never thought about it. Never.

Not until now.

"Well, silly little Lexie," I started to say. "You won't have to worry about that." I smiled widely, thinking about that. Sleeping with him? I could only imagine. And if he offered… "Hopefully."

"Sally, you're crazy!" Lexie said as she pushed the door to the dance floor. "Don't. Please."

"I won't," I assured her. She left the room with a turn and continued to observe the dance floor.

Something caught my eye. It was a black haired woman, one I'd come to know as Emma DeBrunner. She was dancing with somebody.

That somebody happened to look just like Lightning.

I felt my face get hotter by the second as I watched the door close. What the hell was I supposed to do? What if it was somebody else? Maybe I had drunk too much. No, wait, never mind. I had a beer. One. I wasn't drunk, which meant my vision wasn't impaired. Though it could have been, due to the lack of light, but even then…

I walked over to the door and opened it, though I didn't end up facing the dance floor. I was staring at the wall, scared. This couldn't be happening… not now, when I was so… completely in love with somebody. With him, with Stickers! He wasn't just a somebody.

How was I just a somebody to him?

After that it was all business between us. If we talked, it was about the Cozy Cone or Wheel Well. I couldn't escape owning two hotels with him, that much I knew. The last conversation we had was about the renovation of him new room at the Wheel Well. That was a joy. "So, how much money can I use on this?" he asked sarcastically. Fun.

So there I stood in devastation. Again. After all these months I couldn't just go up to him and tell him I still absolutely loved him?

"Miss Sally, here you are again," I heard in the same high-pitched voice. I was used to this. It was a routine. I practically stood there waiting for Lexie. "Waiting for that boy who's probably not gonna come."

"Point being?" I asked. She hadn't ever said that, but I wasn't going to keep it that way. I turned my face over my shoulder facing her.

"Point being that you need to go over there and actually have a conversation with him. And I mean now, missy."

I just turned my head the other way and stood still, laughing stiffly. "May I remind you that you were the one who said he would sleep with me on the night he cheated on me."

"He danced with her, Sally! Who knows? It could've been a sympathy dance, or maybe he even thought you'd understand, and he's heartbroken as we speak!"

"He wouldn't be with Emma if he still liked me," I said doubtfully. I sighed as I jerked my head back, facing the sky. The world was spinning, and yet it was love that made the world go round. Oh, what I would have done just to not have left him that night. We'd be together, or even be talking normally.

"Well, you still owe me a girls' night. I'll see you at Flo's. Seven."

"Whatever." I forced my head back to its normal position. I could here Lexie walk the opposite way and I continued to stand. I couldn't wait for the day to end, so I could go back to my dreams.

But of course, the next day would be the exact same.

**Well, you wanna know something? I'm very tired.**

**So, review…?**


	2. I Don't Just Think

**I have Hips Don't Lie stuck in my head. A bit old, yes, but still freaking addictive. I'm on tonight, you know my hips don't lie and I'm starting to feel ya, boy…**

**Story, then, shall we?**

**WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!!!!!! THIS IS (one of the) REASON(S) THE FIC IS RATED M. So beware. Mwah ha ha ha ha.**

His body was pressed up against mine and my smile was huge. I was squished up to the wall, my hair had turned into the mess, and I honestly couldn't care less. This was heaven, there in his arms. I didn't even know where I was anymore. All I knew was that I was with him, all alone, without a care. He closed his eyes and our lips slightly brushed before I began to close my eyes. After that, he gave me a real kiss. His hands combed through my hair and I was pushed up to the wall even more.

As I was completely caught up in the kiss, Lightning was moving his hand from my hair to my shoulder. Honestly, I had no idea why. So I pushed my head back to get away from the kiss and opened my eyes. I watched him open his in confusion. Him and I were both breathing heavily, and just staring into his eyes nearly made me melt. His hand continued to go down my shoulder, to my arm. And my shirt was dragging along with it.

I knew exactly why at this point.

Watching his eyes close again, I did the same, and we both ended up moving into the middle of the room. One side of my shirt was completely off of my shoulder, and he was reaching for the next. He started kissing me again, more intense than before and definitely with more lust. I could tell I was doing the same. Not on purpose, it just felt so right. I was trying to grab his shirt, too, but as soon as I did, I realized I didn't have the strength to do so. I was melting at the thought of actually… having _sex_ with him. It felt incredible.

But that was how the dream always ended.

----------

"SALLY, FOR THE LAST TIME, WAKE UP!"

My eyes slowly opened as my sight of Lightning and I faded into Lexie yelling at me, telling me to wake up. I grunted in exhaustion, scared for myself.

"About the seventh time you've done that this month," Lexie said. "Which dream was it?"

I responded in an "Mm?" instead of actually talking. I couldn't talk at this time of morning. It was 7:30 or so, about time for me to go back to the Cozy Cone.

"I mean, you have about five dreams of Mr. McQueen. One is him telling you he loves you," she began. I never realized how many different dreams I had about Lightning. They all were amazing dreams. "Two is where he breaks up with Emma and then winks at you, three is your first amazing date, four is your wedding day, and five…" She struggled to say the last one. She knew exactly how it went. I had explained it _all_ to her, and by the end, her exact words were "Oh, lord." "…five is the one where you, you have sex with him."

All I really did to respond was put my hand up with five fingers and fall back to my pillow, head falling hard.

I heard a grunt and my head felt her hand, which soon was shaking it. "Come on, Sally, it's alright. You have a job, you know."

"Mm."

She continued shaking my head. "Look, you want it to be more than that, don't you."

"Mm?"

"You know, more than just a glimpse of what's gonna happen."

"Mm. Mm hm."

"Then get up or you won't live to see the day!"

"Mm!"

"Look, Sally, Scott Savol from American Idol, season four. Remember him? I ate one piece of bread a day until he got kicked off. You saw how crazy I went. For the greater good, you get up and go to work, or I will do the same."

She took her hand off of my head I quickly recognized what she was saying. Scott Savol. Worst singer I had ever heard that actually got on the top twenty-four of American Idol. Ever. And Lexie hated him as well. So much, she had survived each day with a piece of bread (toasted, because Lexie won't have it any other way) and a glass of water. Watching her was like watching a person die. You make yourself suffer over absolutely nothing.

It was kind of like her watching me.

When he did get off, she ran to my refrigerator and ate everything that she could. To celebrate, we had a girls' night. We went on and on about how stupid our lives were, summer would start within a month and a bit more so she'd get out of school, and how dumb Lightning was.

I was in my denial faze. I was much past that at the time she threatened to go on a hunger strike again, but sometimes I did say, "I don't love him." Though that was a lie.

I forced my head upward to get myself up. Though it was a mumble, I clearly remember saying, "I'm not gonna fall for that again."

Though that was a lie, too.

---------

Occasionally, after I have dream number five, I decide not to go to the sign proclaiming the "happy place" that rested ahead, and just sit at Flo's. The lust killed me too much after I tried to stay by the mural once. The whole town saw me stare at him. Fortunately, Emma was in the little girls' room. Thank the lord Lightning was the only other who didn't see, either.

Was it _that_ obvious that I loved him?

God,why couldn't I stop myself?

Of course, their routine stayed the same.

Emma smiled and laughed at everything he said, why Lightning would shower her with kisses on her cheek, completely forgetting there was anybody else in the world. Just the two of them.

_You know, _I_ used to be your everything, Lightning. ME!_ I wanted to scream at him. _I was your Emma. And so much more than your business partner that you couldn't care less about._ What else was I to do, other than stay silent? I just watched him, waiting for it to stop.

The stare came quicker than ever.

He tried looking back by the wall, where I usually was, only to find I wasn't there this time. He shrugged, and quickly looked back to Emma, but his eyes wandered over to his side, where I was. His eyes slightly squinted, I was taking pictures in my mind, wondering, still, exactly what it meant. I finally looked over to him noticeably, and gave off another cheesy smile.

Well, I tried. It ended up being those half smiles that he gave me all the time.

But then he started biting his lip.

I was observing this, and it crossed my mind that he was troubled. Normally, when he is troubled, he laughs way too much, but this was a different troubled. He looked down to the ground as I turned my head back around to where it was. I couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

Oddly enough, I could still feel his eyes staring at me. Apparently, while I was thinking about how I used to be his "Emma," the real Emma left to go drive up to Wheel Well. If you could describe what it was like without her there, it was like the hell that we go through in life just escaping. A great feeling, but sour knowing that she'd be back the next day.

Lightning walked over to me. My heart was going faster than ever, and I couldn't stop it.

I felt a foot lift up but it wouldn't go back down to walk away

As he got closer, I began to panic. I just stayed but, and as he got closer, his hair brushed against mine. I could tell something was running through his head, and I shivered on the inside. So now he was troubled _and_ secretive. "I need to talk to you," he whispered in my ear with no expression.

I looked down and to my right in nothing but thought, and with this, all I said were two words. "Then talk."

"I was hoping alone," he said as he stepped over to my front. Our hair came out of contact but just staring into his eyes was enough for me.

My question was _why_ was this happening so suddenly? It had almost been half a year since we had talked "alone," so why now, of all times? "Is there a reason?" is all I could actually ask.

"Obviously," he said, beginning to walk away, but turning back around and walking backwards. "I just don't wanna say."

I blinked twice before he began stopping to turn around. He didn't turn around though, he just stood there. I almost couldn't even notice.

_Oh, Sally, don't go jumping to conclusions._

Shame that little voice in my head was rarely listened to.

I jumped to that conclusion right away. The kind of conclusion that happened in one of my dreams.

"So you're spontaneous today."

I sighed as I didn't bother to look back. "Lexie, there are many things I come to you about. This isn't one of them." Lightning half smiled at me, and before he turned around, I returned it.

"What did he say to you?"

"Huh?"

"You know, Lightning, when he pretty much put his hand in your pocket."

I blinked and turned to Lexie in confusion. "Did he?"

She nodded her head with the biggest smile in the world. But I continued to watch and her face immediately got serious. "Oh my gosh. He likes you."

_No, no! No conclusions! Lexie's twelve, she's crazy._

Still didn't listen.

"You," I started, but I stumbled in my thoughts. He liked me. Hard to believe, yes. And I was even thinking of it before. I hadn't even imagined. Not before now. "You don't think so, do you?"

"Darling, Sally," she said to me with a mysterious smile and thin eyes, walking around to my side, grabbing my arm with hers, elbows jointed. She dragged me along as she continued walking while I just looked down at her, wondering what she was saying. "I do much more than think, I know."

**So Lexie "knows" Lightning likes Sally. The real question (since Lexie can't be too trusted) is DOES HE? Ha ha, I love this story.**

**Didn't really know that she could make a story awesome, so true. Makes a man wanna give a _review_.**


	3. That's Your Job

**Alright, well, this chapter was easier than I thought it would be to write. Somewhat effortless, actually. Just typed away. Easier than I thought it would be.**

**BUT WARNING (man, I have one per chapter, don't I): This chapter gets a little… eh, scary? But it could be K+, so whatever.**

I hated satellite radio with a passion around the time I was sitting at my desk, waiting for Lightning to come in and tell me what he wanted to talk about. They always played "the hits" as assigned by MTV or some other crap rap TV channel. Or, at least, the Top 20 on 20 did. I mean, last I checked, Gwen Stefani was telling us she wasn't "no Hollaback girl." Something that had to do with B-A-N-A-N-A-S was included, but it was a horrible song.

Occasionally, the station would put on some decent music, perhaps some John Mayer or something, but for the most part, it was "B-A-N-A-N-A-S" and "shake your body like a belly dancer." Who _was_ Akon, anyway?

But, nonetheless, I couldn't be bothered to change the station. I knew I should have, but I never did.

Chimes rung. I looked up.

There he was.

"So," I said in the calmest tone possible. "You needed me?"

"I did," he answered. He walked toward the desk, his hands in his pockets and a bit of a pout on his face. When he reached my desk, he looked over to the piece of paper sitting on the desk. "If you aren't busy, than we can talk about why I needed you."

I looked down at the desk to see the same piece of paper he was talking about, my "notes." It read this: _I am bored._ I looked back up at him and put on a half smile. "I'm free."

He nodded and put on a half smile himself. Then he looked back up to me and started biting his lip again. Nervous habit, maybe. I know it's mine. His eyes wandered to his side. "Um, Sally, there's no real easy way to put this, so…" He looked back into my eyes as I raised one eyebrow. "We might, we might be going bankrupt."

_Bankrupt._

_No, no, not…_

"Bankrupt?" My calm tone was gone. I could be mistaken for a mouse the way my voice cracked. Both eyebrows were as high as they could be, eyes wide open. "But, but, but how?"

"Somebody broke into Wheel Well last night," he explained, trying to remain calm, though it was a little obvious he was feeling insecure about it. "Once the alarms went off and I reached the vault, they were gone. With almost all of our money."

My legs were shaking under the desk. Almost all of our money! "Oh my god," was all I could say. I looked up at the ceiling. "Goodbye XM Radio."

"Well," he started. "We, um, we do have a "clue," parse."

I looked back down to Lightning in the least bit of hope. "We do?"

He put his hand on top of my "notes" and lifted it up. On my piece of paper was a diamond earring. My eyes met his without my head moving. "An earring?"

"I said parse." I could tell he was _trying_ to make me feel better. So sweet. "But we're gonna need somebody to find out whose earring it is if it's of any use." His hands touched the table and he leaned closer to me. I started panicking again.

Jumping to conclusions.

But he stopped before he got too close.

"That's your job."

I blinked once at this statement as my eyes shifted down to the earring. "So…" I began to say, eyes beginning to shift back to him. "You want me to go around town asking every person if they lost an earring."

"Pretty much."

I looked back down at my notes. _I am bored._ I picked up a pencil and flipped over the piece of paper. I jotted something down, but I covered it up with my arm and looked back up. "Will do."

He backed up off the desk and began walking backwards. "So, what I'm doing is sitting around, being a lazy ass."

"That's so you." I played along.

"Thank you." He smiled. A real smile. Not a half.

As he walked out, I let out an exhausted sigh. My arm, still covering up the paper, slowly moved to below the writing.

_Now I'm dreaming._

----------

"'That's your job.' So cute!"

"Lexie, shut the hell up!"

She giggled hopelessly. "This is going to be so much fun." She gave me her everyday smile. "Is this your earring? Because it _looks_ like it!" Continuing her impression of what she was doing for me so _I_ could act like a lazy ass along with Lightning. I figured people might be less suspicious that the earring was left at a crime scene, so somebody might fess up quicker. We were standing inside of a room at Wheel Well, which was perfect for the conversation we were having. "I can't believe he got that close to you."

"How many times have I said 'shut the hell up?' Because I'm considering using a worse word than that."

"Try me."

I silently laughed at myself. "Lexie, shut the fuck up."

"Oh, I'm so scared," she giggled again. "Sally, you are crazy. You think one thing and you say another. For instance, you know in your mind that I say 'fuck' all the time, and I don't really give a _fuck_ if you say it. Yet you say it like I'll care. You want another example?"

Yawning, I said, "Please share."

"You _say_ that Lightning wouldn't be with Emma if he still liked you. Yet signs are pointing out that he obviously likes you. The hand in the pocket, him getting that cl-"

"He didn't put his hand in my pocket!"

"Well, who cares? You're in denial." She turned back around and giggled again.

"You're such a nice friend, Lexie." I was pacing the room, almost shaking my head. "Look, 'I really don't give a _fuck_' what you think. You're twelve."

"Age doesn't mean much, love."

While I agreed with this statement, I wasn't in the mood for admitting that. Lexie was tiring to talk to sometimes, especially when she acted like she knew everything. Right. Lightning liked me.

Oh, sarcasm is great.

"Just, just go." I gave her my glaring eyes. "Please go."

"I will return with a report." She put her hand to her forehead like a solider, and I followed. Once she put it down, I did the same. She giggled again. "Adios."

"Goodbye."

She shut the door with gusto, and I paced to the back of the room. Falling on to the bed, I sighed once more at the thought of this unusual day. I had thought it would be like any other. Staying at the wall, Lexie asking for a girls' night, his stares…

Oh, but his smile today! I about died of amazement seeing that. Been so long since I had seen it directed to me.

Did he mean it?

Questions remained. Many did, in fact. It was like a Lost episode only not as much people and in the middle of the desert with no secret numbers to un-code. Just secrets.

I knew I would be dreaming about him that night. I just didn't know what it would be about.

----------

I didn't feel anything except for his kiss, and my lord, it was crazy. I didn't want it to stop anytime soon.

This was a new dream…

Questions were racing through my head as if I was awake. What was this going to lead to? Was this a new part of dream number five? Where were we? Did he break up with Emma at this point?

Nonetheless, the kiss continued. It almost felt too rushed for me, not the way Lightning used to kiss me. It was never this intense before. And he definitely felt different up against my body. Taller, maybe? More muscular? I didn't really know if this was Lightning anymore.

Whoever it was, he pulled away from me and my eyes opened slowly.

I almost screamed when I saw him.

It wasn't Lightning. Much taller. _Very_ muscular. I still didn't know where we were, and all other questions had nothing to do with this stranger. I could tell I was deep into something I had no idea about. I never saw his face. It was too dark. But I did see a smile. And it wasn't a nice one.

"Night, sweetcakes."

I gasped and began to scream.

But it was too late. The scream never made it.

I saw his fist right in front of my eyes, and I quickly closed them.

After that? Pain. A lot of it.

Was I dead?

----------

I woke up with my eyes wide open. Hardly breathing.

_What the hell just happened?_

I died in my dream, didn't I? Who was that? Did it… did it mean something? Literal or metaphorical? It could've meant goodbye to Wheel Well, or goodbye to Lightning…

Goodbye to me…

I breathed in heavily, half crying to myself. Inside a horror flick. My face turned to the clock. 6:47 AM. Early enough to get out of bed, I supposed. But I didn't get up. All of the sudden I was feeling sick to my stomach. Like I couldn't move. I just rolled over so my eyes were directed at the ceiling. I closed them and tried to breathe again, but it was a horrible feeling. My throat was going to collapse if I continued breathing like that.

What was happening to me? One dream. And I was ruined for a day? Possibly more? God knew alone how I was feeling, but slowly I felt myself feel tired again.

I almost was falling asleep when I heard footsteps. hey began walking slower once the sound was less distant and it stopped when I heard the same voice that warmed my heart. "Sally, we have customers."

I sighed, though it hurt. "I," my voice cracked. Ouch. "…don't feel good."

"How bad is it?"

"Very," I managed to squeak. I was half crying again, but I tried to make it silent.

"Alright, I'll see if Emma can help today."

I heard his footsteps walk away and fell back into my pillow. How did I just randomly get sick? Did my body systems get worked up over the dream or no? I honestly couldn't think of any reason why I was acting up over it.

But I _died_, didn't I? I was think Lightning was going to be the dream. Nope. It was some creepy abusive boyfriend.

Or was it? I had no idea. But something was out there to get me. I just didn't know what.

_Wait…_ It was just a dream. It didn't mean anything! If it did, than I'm sure my other ones would too. Quite frankly, none of the other ones were even close to meaning something.

Despite all the crazy thoughts, my eyes just went droopy. And, praying that the dream wouldn't come back, I went back to sleep. Still shaking.

**Scary, right? Of course right. I'm always right. ;-)**

**So, I know Sarah's heard of the coolest song ever, Misery Business by Paramore. Have you? Well, if you haven't, you have yet to listen to great music (unless you like Rascal Flatts or the Veronicas!). Best song ever.**

**Review, please! Yeah, I'm in the begging mood.**


	4. Freaking Little 6th Grader

**Now **_**this**_** chapter could be K+, it's so happy. But nothing's really supposed to happen in this chapter. It literally covers fifteen minutes of something. Maybe a little less. Maybe a little more. I have no idea. But I'm just explaining future events, if you understand what that means.**

**Well, I'm gonna go sing my Lily Allen songs. I LOVE Lily Allen. :-D**

"RISE AND SHINE RADIATOR SPRINGS! WE HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT, SO GET YOUR BUTTS TO THE TOWN HALL!"

Lexie and I were walking down the street with her holding a gong and telling everybody to get their butts to the town hall. Nobody wanted to, but we were in need of an emergency meeting. It had been a month since Lightning and I had nearly gone bankrupt. Customers had gotten us back on our feet so we could pay for bills, but our safe wasn't getting any more money than it had after it was stolen from.

I heard a loud groan coming from Mater, who had obviously just heard the announcement. He was walking towards us, smiling, but eyes half-shut. "'ello, miss Salleh!"

I was just about to say hello back when Lexie interrupted. "I SAID LET'S GET UP AND MOVING IN THIS LITTLE TOWN!"

She continued banging his little gong while I heard Sarge say, "Freaking little 6th grader, shut the hell up!"

"I WON'T STAND FOR FOUL LANGUAGE AT THIS TIME OF DAY," Lexie snapped back at Sarge. "GET A MOVE ON! DOC WANTS US IN THERE OR ELSE."

"I want my sleep!"

"GO TO BED EARLY TONIGHT!"

I watched Mater chuckle at Lexie's spirit. "Ain't this a bad time of day tuh have an announcement?"

I smiled at him, shaking my head. "Doc did call us last night telling us to make sure we all heard this." I sighed. It had been a month since I had fallen with my sickness from my bad dream. Doc said I had a minor flu after going from extremely worked up heat to cold in split seconds from my reactions. My throat was the only thing that was really dry because all of the water in my body had gone to help my other body systems and completely ignored my throat. I got a prescription of lots and lots of water each day, loads of sleep as well. But I was back up and ready to find out who had stolen our money, and completely over my dream.

Lightning and Emma had actually been out of town, along with Doc, Luigi and Guido, because of another race. It had nearly been a week since they had left, and once I heard a loud honking noise and a "Hey, Sally!" from a familiar voice, I knew they had come back.

I felt myself filled with joy and fear at the same time when I heard Mac. Mac is the sweetest person you could ever meet. You could hate everything about him, and he still would be nice. I loved people like that. I turned around and faced the big truck hauling a trailer with logos all over it. "How'd it go?"

"Lightning won, Chick still hates us."

"Impressive." I remained happy about this, still smiling. Lightning won. What else was there to be happy about?

The truck came to a loud stop in the middle of Flo's and I watched two tour buses follow it. Mater walked over to me and said, "Great way tuh start thuh mornin'!"

I simply nodded watching Emma come out first, then Lightning. Emma had on a face that looked as if it couldn't move. Glued together or something. Just remained still. But once Lightning came out I completely forgot about how cold and stiff Emma looked. He was glowing, happy to have won the race. I watched him see Emma go straight into the Cozy Cone, eyes never fixed on him. He looked at me and shrugged. Rolling his eyes, he mouthed the word "women" so clearly. I smiled, but I shook my head in disagreement. As he walked toward me, he smiled back.

"Congrats, Lightning," I said, rolling my eyes back at him.

You could tell he knew what I was thinking. "You are _hilarious_, really." Lightning was breathing sarcasm. He knew how and when to use it, when it was funny and when it wasn't. "But thanks."

I nodded my head as he continued to get closer. "Well, nobody's 'fessed up about the earring." My smile turned into a frown at this point. "So depressing."

But he continued to smile as he finally stepped right in front of me. "Well, don't worry. We're gonna find them."

Our eyes were locked in a stair that almost didn't seem to end. I put my smile back on. Oddly enough, even though I wasn't with him, when I was, I was happy. He was the reason I _did_ smile. "I would hope so."

While I hardly even noticed at the time, I felt his hand wrap around mine. If I had the time to process this, I wouldn't have been able to breathe. I just acted as if it happened every single day. "Just make sure we know when we find them."

"Promise," I assured him. Sighing, I looked back to the Cozy Cone. Emma was walking around like a model, with nobody to show off to. _How could he love that bitch?_ was the question I wanted an answer to. I wasn't getting one any time soon, though. I could tell.

I looked back at him and I realized he was looking at the Cozy Cone as well, moving his mouth to the left side. But once he looked back at me, he half-smiled, realizing how close Emma was to seeing his hand holding mine. I knew he loved her, so he wouldn't want to risk anything but still… "What are we all out here for?"

"Stupid little announcement in the town hall. Doc called us last night to warn us."

"What's it about?"

"I'm _guessing_ the money, but I'm not sure." Unwillingly, I let go of his hand, I saw Lexie in the corner of my eye, and if she saw _anything_ she would have a party thrown in our honor. "Who knows?" I said backing up. "We might have ourselves a little charity fund."

He smiled and laughed. "The Lightning and Sally Foundation for People Who Really Want Money. I like it."

We were far away enough where I had to somewhat yell in order to get my message across to him. "Well, we could get it started."

"How?"

"Up to you, Stickers." I smiled and turned around laughing. As I walked away, my smiled just grew wider. He just held my hand, didn't he? And he knew Emma could catch him. Knowing Emma… a jealous type, she would go insane. She goes insane when fans say they love him. Death stares included. I would hate to be them.

I had this strange feeling, like he was watching me, so I turned around. He looked a bit confused by something and had a tiny pout on his face. "What?" I asked.

"You, um," he started. "You called me Stickers."

It took me a while to process what exactly he was saying. _I called him Stickers. And?_ I blinked twice, still thinking about the point of that. I mean, I know I hadn't called him Stickers since the party, but…

…_oh, wow, I called him Stickers?_

"I," trying to make up an excuse for calling him that. It just slipped out. I didn't even notice it until now! "I did, didn't I."

He walked towards me and I started to walk towards him. He didn't say anything until I was the only one who could here what he was saying. "You haven't…" He was trying to think of a better way to say what he was saying, I knew it deep in my heart. I tried to keep myself from breathing too heavily as he began to walk right back up to me. "You haven't called me that since… you know… that um-"

'That one night, yeah." I finished the sentence for him. I knew what he was thinking. I was practically his friend again. "Well, you don't… mind if I call you that, do you?"

I watched him in confusion. He might've been wondering why all the sudden I was acting like this again, or maybe he was just shocked about it. Either way, he started walking away, with a smile on his face. All I saw was his back once I turned to see him walking towards the town hall.

"You don't mind if I call you that, do you?" I repeated as he walked away.

"'Up to you,' Sally."

I smile slowly crept onto my face as he began to look back. More sarcasm. I knew it. And I loved it.

----------

Everybody was sitting in the town hall. It was noisy and tiring. You could hear Sarge cursing Lexie, Filmore trying to calm him down with his little respect speech, Lexie yelling at Sarge for cursing her, Flo yelling at Lexie for yelling at Sarge, Ramone and Luigi talking to each other about how early it was, and then there was me, just trying to stay sane after all of what had happened. Lexie was sitting to my left and Lightning to my right. I looked over to Lexie, who was trying now to stay sane as well now that her mother had threatened to take away her iPod. I leaned into her ear and whispered, "I made my move today."

Her eyes scrunched up in confusion and her mouth closed. "What move?" she asked.

"I talked to him," I explained in a quiet voice. "I called him Stickers, he held my hand. It was _great_."

Her mouth dropped and practically made a perfect "o" until she began to yawn. "Wohw," was the sort of sound she made with her yawn and the word "wow" together. "How did he-"

"Settle down, everybody," I heard over the speakers. We all shut our mouths so only Doc was heard.

He began to clear his throat and started speaking. "It's come to our attention that there was a robbery at Wheel Well around a week ago. Sally and Lightning are now practically bankrupt. First, we find who did it, and then we help them." I began hearing whispers from Sarge along the words of, "fucking stealers." "It might not be so easy," Doc began again. "There were plenty of customers and people in town around that time, and while I highly doubt it was any of you in here, I'm not gonna take my chances. Any questions?" Luigi raised his hand. "Yes, Luigi."

"Are a-we going to do eh-random DNA testing?"

Doc sighed, as you could tell the answer was no. "No, Luigi, the will be no random DNA tests. Anybody else?" He paused for a while. "No? Alright. Well, next subject. The Annual Campout is scheduled to be this Saturday, just for a treat."

All the sudden, everybody started whispering or making a comment about it. I started smiling and whispered to myself, "yes!"

"Some of you," Doc continued. "Don't even know what the Campout is." He obviously meant Lightning and Emma. "Ever since the town was founded oh-so-long ago, we drove out about an hour from here, closed everything, and camped out for the night wherever we found a good spot. Fires, marshmallows, all that fun stuff is included." I sneaked a peak over at Emma, who looked mortified at the thought. She had become high maintenance, I wasn't surprised. I started slightly giggling to myself, but made it quiet enough so it hardly even made a sound. Nobody could hear it, not even me. "We meet at Flo's around noon and take off at 12:30. Everybody brings food and something else of use, whether they want to or not. We assign it tomorrow, which is by when you have to tell me or Flo if you can go or not. Any questions about that?"

The room continued to whisper and I heard Sarge say to Fillmore, "We better bring a gun this time. Remember what happened with the scorpions?" But Fillmore said that we could just bring a box to "carry the little guys to freedom when they get trapped by us." But right after hearing this, still smiling, I lean to Lexie again. "Did you see Emma's face?" I asked as if _I _was the one who was twelve.

"What'd it look like?" she asked in happiness.

"She's gonna die out their. If she brings Juicy, I will laugh in her face."

"_Last_," Doc began to speak again, and everybody became silent. "Good. Last announcement. There's going to be some renovation around town, so welcome the contractors, make them feel at home, as it will be for around three months, maybe more. If we don't have any more questions, we can all leave."

The room seemed to rise with everybody else once we stood up. Talking began once more, and this time, much louder.

I felt something brush against my head on the left, and I heard the words, "Emma has a meeting in New York this Saturday during the Camp-Out. I'm not going."

We both continued to walk, and in a monotone, I responded, "Shame. Absolutely a shame."

"You wanna skip it with me?"

My body continued to walk but my insides froze. The town being practically empty, just me and him? Even though I wanted to go, I practically couldn't refuse this. I just kept walking. "But I wanna go," I said, out of my monotone. "Get Mater to skip with you."

"Fine leave me all alone," he said. And after a while, there was nothing coming from his mouth, and I felt his head brush away from mine. My heart skipped a beat as to why he seemed so strange lately. Was it me or was it the race? I turned around and faced him, just silently waiting for an answer. I remained silent and tilted my head to the side a bit. Just staring at him, you could tell he didn't want many people to know what he was thinking. He just shook his head and walked towards me again. "You'll regret it."

**(singing Alfie by Lily Allen) I only say is 'cause I care, so ple- Alright, so you're finished! Long but pointless chapter, eh?**

**Pft, okay, this chapter was a little happy-go-lucky but trust me, this wasn't really a full chapter with any action in it. Like I said before, I'm just explaining future events in this chapter.**

**Lemme hear you say REVIEW!**


	5. Absolutely Nothing Happened

**I MET RASCAL FLATTS!**

**And I got two hugs from Joe Don Rooney.**

**Eeeee. I love him.**

**And I haven't been on in forever! Nice to be back, ha ha. Well, anyway, chapter.**

**WARNING: Lightning and Sally are going to drink a substance which nobody should drive with in their systems. Yeh.**

Indeed, I thought to myself that I _would_ regret going to the Campout, the one I had looked forward to for ages. I stayed in town. There were no customers, so there weren't any people. Except for the contractors, of course. I was sitting by myself, because he had just left. He told me he would come back soon.

The contractors weren't doing so bad. They were pretty good at what they did, from what I was seeing. Not to mention, a lot of them were _very_ attractive. Especially one of them. He kept staring at me, and he would smile. He seemed really nice, actually.

Just as I was thinking this, though, Lightning had come back from wherever he was. He was holding two cans of something that I couldn't see. Once he had gotten close enough for me to see it, I scoffed at him.

"What's so funny?" he asked me. "You can't take a beer?" Scoffing back at me, as if it was an insult. You could tell he was _very_ happy. For what reason, I didn't know. But he was so incredibly sweet, even to Lexie before the town left. That was impressive.

"Shut up," I snapped back at him, taking the beer from his hands. I quickly opened the tab and began to drink it. Though it was only a sip, it was enough to prove that I could in fact take a beer. I put the can just a little below my lip, touching nothing but my hand. "See?"

He began laughing at me and sat down by me. He was so nice when Emma wasn't around him. Almost like what he was around me when we were together, I suppose. Just a great person to be around, friend or more. "I see you taking one little sip," he noted.

I gave him a glare, along with a tooth-less smile. "I don't chug beer."

"You should try it some time," he said with a slight sigh.

"I kind of did," I told him. I remember exactly what had happened. "I vomited for twenty-four hours straight the day after." Oh, my first real drink. Twenty-one years old and taking my first can of beer and chugging it down within five minutes. Best day of my life. Of course, the day after was perhaps the worst. "I refuse to chug."

"Well, I guess I understand that, but maybe things have changed since you did it." Sarcasm. Obviously.

I just laughed at him for practically asking me to chug the beer. He was so crazy sometimes. "No," was all I could say without sounding like an idiot.

He just smirked at me and turned his head. "Fine, fine. Maybe things haven't changed after all."

Pause.

We didn't look at each other for nearly two minutes. I managed to glance at the clock inside of Flo's. It was 8:21, and though the sun had already set, it was still light enough for you to see anything in town, which right now was only Lightning and the contractors, which was a change. A nice change, though. I didn't mind it.

"Or maybe they have."

_Maybe things have changed? No, they're the same, pretty much._

I looked back at him and he was looking back at me. He had somewhat of an evil grin on his face. I knew what he wanted me to do. "I'm _not_ chugging the beer!"

"Just take more than a sip!" he insisted. He was half-laughing now, the evil from the smile was gone. "Seriously, do you _ever_ drink?"

"Of course I do!" I said right back. "I just don't feel like it!"

"Fine," he scoffed at me, still smiling. I watched his expression change slowly to a frown. There was something different about him that I had realized when he was around me; I just couldn't figure it out. I knew he was upset, but why? And what was it to do with me?

But I knew the question couldn't be answered without asking. "You okay?"

He looked back up at me a little confused. Maybe thinking. I couldn't really tell.

Even though those eyes of his, they just can't lie to save his life.

Something I hadn't been able to do in a long time, look straight into his dark blue eyes. Slightly squinted, full of curiosity. Looking somebody into the eyes was something I had learned when I became a lawyer. You could tell when and if they were lying about something. You could tell how they were going to answer a question or maybe completely just not answer. And I knew that he probably was thinking of somebody. But who would he…

_Oh, right._

Emma. Of course it was Emma, who else was there to think about? Honestly, I couldn't understand why I hadn't thought of that. He _was_ dating her, in love with her.

"I'm fine," he tried to assure me, giving me another smile. "Really, I'm okay, I just…" As his voice trailed off, I saw his face become serious, which wasn't normal for Lightning. Even when he was racing, he was having fun. He knew it didn't matter if he won. But now it just seemed so unlike him to be like this, I was almost scared of it.

I just kept staring at him like it was all my business. Then again, what else was there to look at? The contractors? Nah. "Okay, I'm dead serious," I told him. I knew something was wrong, and I was going to find out.

He didn't look at me for about two seconds, he was just breathing in and out heavily. I admit, I knew he wasn't in the mood for talking. But then again, I was a little worried, and with that, I was eager to find out what was on his mind. Once he did look at me, he pressed he lips together. His lips separated after a while. "I know you are." He turned his head around to the contractors just watching them do their work.

But of course, being myself, I continued to look at him, into his eyes. Though he wasn't looking into mine, I could still see what he was thinking. He wasn't going to tell me. So I decided to give up on asking. "Fine," I sighed into words. I looked away from him and down at my feet. They were swaying just like Lexie's would on a day or night like this. I was happy, I guess. I didn't know why, though.

"I'm just shocked, I guess."

I felt my eyebrows raise up as if automatically and ended up turning my head back over to him, to see him look right back at me. "Shocked?" I asked.

"You know what's happened in a _month_," he told me, turning his head away from mine. "I mean, we go bankrupt, we come back out of it, the town becomes ours for a while, I become your friend again, I mea-"

"You became my friend again," I interrupted, thinking out loud. As soon as I realized I said that to him, I began biting my bottom lip and my eyes wandered to the ground. "Stickers," I said quietly. "You know you could've been my friend that whole time we were on business-only-limits, right?"

My eyes went back to see him now looking at me, almost confused, but too surprised to be confused. He stared at me for a long time until he finally got to words. "I…" he stumbled. "I have some things I need to do at Wheel Well." He stood and started walking towards the Cozy Cone, which usually was where his car was. He and Emma shared one, considering the size of the town. However, he had realized as he spun right back around to me-

"You don't have a car."

He stared at me blankly as I felt a burst of laughter come out of my mouth. Moments like this, where he had no idea what to do, they were sweet. He was right. I did know what had happened in a month.

"Lightning, absolutely _nothing_ happened in a month," I began. I shook my head and continued laughing. I was about to go hysterical, and I knew there was something wrong with me. I stopped before it was too late, slowly drowning out the laughter from me. I looked right back at him. His face wasn't blank anymore. He knew. He'd seen me like this before. That "one night." I laughed, only that time, I had let it go too far.

That's probably why he didn't talk to me again unless it was about "business."

I don't exactly remember how he came over to me again, or how it lead to what it did, but right before he had leaned into me and pressed his body up against mine, he looked me straight in the eye, and said, "I think you're right."

**So, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NOW? Ha. Well, I got half of the next chapter already written, and I already know the key points for the rest, so HEY! I've officially come back to my calling… uhm, if this **_**is**_** my calling. Oo**

**Review, yeh?**


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